Anywhere and Everywhere
by gwenstacys
Summary: A middle aged man, recently divorced and disconnected from his kids, meets the Doctor and is in for quite the surprise.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, it's characters, or the TARDIS. If I did I would be the happiest girl alive, and.. I would pay a visit to Van Gogh and give him a hug.**

**The only character that is mine is Mark.**

I might be okay today. I decided this earlier when I woke up and didn't feel like trying to get out of bed would be an impossible task. Everything's at least a little bit more difficult when you're alone, when you can't look forward to seeing a loved one or being around them, and have no genuine reason to get up in the morning. "One day you might just wake up and feel happy again," my overly optimistic therapist told me just a few days ago. What she must not realize is that it's not that easy. Clearly she hasn't been divorced by her significant other of 24 years who she thought still loved her, and have her kids refuse to be a part of her life.

It happened so suddenly that I didn't see it coming, though I suppose... if I really think about it, I should have seen the signs. She made the habit of coming home late every night, finding more work to do just so she didn't have to see me (which I didn't piece together until later). She was distant, and wasn't really there even when she was physically. I tried reaching out to her, making sure everything was okay - I figured maybe something at work was upsetting her - but she brushed me off. She refused affection. I thought she was just going through a lot.. I didn't realize that I was part of the problem.

That night when I crawled into bed beside her and asked if she was going to stay up to read or just wanted to go to bed, she blurted out "This isn't going to work" and I figured she meant our sleeping arrangement.

"Delia, you've known for 24 years now that I like to stay up late," I said amused, "what do you mean?"

"I mean us, Mark. This isn't going to work with us." She sighed, her eyes closed and her forehead crinkling.

"I don't... I don't understand." I moved closer to her, but she wouldn't face me.

"I want a divorce. I'm sorry." She spoke quietly, turning to the side opposite of me. I didn't say anything after that, I don't think I even could say anything. You know how everyone says that when they have a near death experience they see their lives flash before their eyes? For me it was kind of like that, but I saw my life without her, my life after those words were spoken. I saw me getting into an empty bed each night, waking up without anyone there, and repeating each day. _Alone, alone, repeat_.

Today wasn't much different - I still woke up alone, the creases in the bed that use to fit her frame were still gone, and I got dressed without thinking about impressing anyone. I ran a comb through my graying hair so it was at least a little presentable, and slung my old, worn, leather jacket over my shoulder. It looked nice outside, so I figured it might be a good day to visit the park near my apartment.

The warmth of the sun felt comforting in a strange yet familiar sort of way. I breathed out, reminding myself to relax. _I'm going to make an effort today_, I thought to myself. _I'm going to try to find my own happiness, even if it's the littlest thing_.

When I got to the park I found a bench that wasn't being inhabited and took a seat. There were surprisingly a lot of people there even though it was a Sunday morning - kids running around, parents chasing them, couples sitting on the grass enjoying each others company or taking a stroll... though one person caught my eye immediately. A man, watching the children play, but not in a way like the creepy men you hear about on the news - no, in the most innocent, curious way possible. He was tall and quite skinny, what most would consider lanky, and had messy, dark red hair that seemed to be swept in every and any direction, as well as a freckle covered face. He noticed me watching him, and smiled. I quickly looked away, embarrassed, wondering why his attention was set on me.

He waved frantically, as if I was a good friend of his rather than just a random bloke at a park, and walked over to the bench where I was sitting. "Hello!"

"Oh uh.. hello." I offered nervously.

"It's simply gorgeous out today! I hope you're enjoying it." He spoke loudly with emphasis on the word "gorgeous", his arms spread out wide as he looked up.

"Why yes, I suppose it is." I was surprised at how forward and friendly he was, and how he spoke as if he had a part in causing it to be nice outside.

"Trust me, sir. I've been around a long time, longer than I'd like to admit, and I haven't seen many days such as this." He smiled reassuringly and extended his hand towards me. "I'm the Doctor by the way."

"Mark." I offered my hand and he shook it enthusiastically.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mark." The Doctor replied cheerfully, without a hint of sarcasm.

"You say you're a Doctor? Mr...?"

"Oh, just the Doctor."

"Just.. the Doctor? That's what you're called?"

"Yes, that's what they always call me. I'm not sure why exactly..." He furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Ah, well that's interesting I suppose." I was confused also, starting to question whether or not he actually is an odd fellow like the ones on the news. "I noticed you were watching the children over there." I motioned towards the kids who were now participating in some sort of game in which one tagged the other and ran to a certain area and had to tag another person.

"Yes, I was. Let me tell you, Mark..." He sat down next to me without being asked, and looked me in the eyes. "I've witnessed many wonders of this world and places far, far away from this one, things an ordinary person perhaps couldn't handle or would find themselves thinking about, constantly in amazement, but.." He broke eye contact, looked once more at the children and smiled. "There's nothing quite as fascinating as children. Their innocence, joy, and genuine yearning of life and all it has to offer... it's beautiful."

For a man who was obviously very young - in his twenties by the looks of it - he looked very old and very wise in that moment, even with just a flicker of those green eyes.

"For someone so young, you speak as if you're my age or older." The Doctor laughed at this, though I didn't intend it as a joke.

"You'd be surprised, Mark. How old are you, anyway?"

"44. Why?"

"Mark! You are an _infant_." The Doctor grinned, taking me by surprise. "You have many years left and lives to live."

"I would hardly call myself an infant, Doctor." I allowed myself to smile, possibly for the first time in quite a while. "I fear my recent experiences have aged me a great deal, to my misfortune."

"Everyone goes through bad experiences, Mark. It's how we conduct ourselves and deal with our lives afterward that really matters, at least that's what I have observed. They will make you wiser, and you'll learn from them - I can promise you that."

"You've had many bad experiences then, Doctor?" He turned to face me with an almost solemn expression.

"What makes you say that?"

"You seem very wise."

"I've lived. I've learned. I've seen a lot of terrible, horrid things.. but even more good, wonderful things. They always outweigh the bad in the end. I learned that from a good friend."

"Your friend must be very wise as well, then."

"Yes," the Doctor smiled thoughtfully, "he was."

"My...ex-wife was. I always felt like she knew more than me, and was ahead of her time almost. I could never quite keep up with her." I felt oddly comfortable talking to the strange man, even though we had never met before. There's a certain comfort in having a conversation with a stranger that you can't have with someone you're close to, a special sort of unspoken trust. "Maybe that was my problem in the end."

"The end?" The Doctor asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"We officially divorced about a month ago. She moved out three months before then."

"I'm very sorry to hear that, Mark. Do you have any kids? Are they doing okay.. given the circumstances?"

"Well I uh, I have two actually. My eldest son Simon is going to be 22 soon, so he has grown accustomed to not being around us anyway, and my younger daughter, Kate, is 18. It's a bit harder on her, I think. She has always been the optimist, that one. A dreamer. The kind of person who doesn't give up and believes that every problem can be solved."

"She seems like someone I would get along with very well." The Doctor smiled. "I'm sure it will get easier in time. Not everything does you know, but the things that matter do."

"Oh Doctor, I wish I had yours and Kate's positive spirit. Maybe I had the chance to do things over again, points in my life I always wished I could change.."

"Oh, you never want to do that."

"Why not?"

"Time is... well, because time is wobbly. It's a tricky, complicated little devil that's both incredibly dangerous and wonderfully fun, depending on how you take advantage of it."

I looked at him curiously, wanting to know more. "You speak so strangely, Doctor. Strange.. but nice."

"Yes, that's how I've been described quite often." His eyes grew wide for a moment, recalling those past interactions, and stood up from the bench suddenly.

"You don't have to leave already, do you?" The Doctor stared at me for a moment with an intensity that startled me, as if he was examining my very soul.

"I've got lives to live, places to see, people to meet, adventures to go on..." He turned on his heel and started to walk away, then stopped, looking back with a smile. "You can come with me if you want. You wouldn't even have to be gone for very long."

"Go with you?" Sure I felt comfortable talking to him, but this I wasn't expecting. "Go with you where? And what do you mean 'I wouldn't have to be gone for very long'?"

"Anywhere you'd like to go, anywhere at all. I could take you to see far away planets that have yet to be discovered in your time, ancient civilizations with the kind of people you see in paintings and read about in textbooks," He raised his arms up excitedly, "anyone who has ever lived and anywhere that has ever been. Stars.." His voice was quieter, less rushed. "Stars more beautiful and bright than you could ever imagine."

"Doctor..." I took a step back, not sure how to take in what he was saying. "You sound mad."

"Some would say I am. Many would, actually. A mad man with a box." He smiled, amused at my accusation. "But that's the fun of it!"

"I..."

"Come on, let me show you!" The Doctor interrupted, motioning me to follow him. We walked down the path where I had came into the park, went around the corner, until we found what appeared to be a blue police box. "Here she is." He took a tool out of his pocket that glowed at the end and made a high pitched sound, unlocking the door of the box. "Isn't she gorgeous? Don't be afraid, Mark. Step inside."

He waited on the outside, holding the door until I made my entrance. I hesitated at first, like any sane man would in that situation, but clearly what I was doing was anything but sane. Following a strange man I had just met who claimed to be able to take me to places that no longer exist or might in the future.. it was pure madness. Regardless, I took a deep breath and stepped forward into the box, feeling an overwhelming combination of fear and excitement. What I saw was beyond anything I could have imagined in my wildest dreams.

"It's.. it's..."

"Bigger on the inside?" The Doctor offered, amused.

"...yes!" The room I was now gaping at in amazement was an actual room, a large one, with stairwells and gadgets and controls of all kinds. It looked like a sort of beautiful product of a space ship and the places you read about in a fairytale storybook.

"It's called the TARDIS. It will take me to any point in time, any place I want."

I turned around to face him, the reality finally setting in.

"You mean this is an actual, working time machine?"

"Well.. yeah. She's much more complicated and special than that, but in the most basic form.. yes." I laughed loudly, leaning onto one of the rails for support. "Mark, are you alright?"

"I just can't believe this is happening."

"The disbelief will wear off eventually." The Doctor nearly skipped over to the main control center of the room and started pushing buttons and pulling levers. "What do you say, Mark? How 'bout a spin?"

"Well...there's nothing holding me back here anymore. I suppose..." I smiled, imagining all the possibilities. "I should allow myself to be happy again. To 'go on adventures' as you say."

The Doctor smiled back sympathetically and gripped the largest lever amongst the controls. "You'd better hold onto something, then." He pulled the lever down with one hand and held onto a nearby rail with the other. "Off we go!" The entire room shook and made a ghastly, repetitive sound. But over the nose I could hear him, the Doctor yelling with more excitement and pure joy than I ever thought possible in a person, especially for someone who apparently does this all the time. The impossible, optimistic mad man and his box, taking me away from all hopelessness.


End file.
